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This game is irrelevant for Latvia while Spain want to win, but don't have to because the QFs is secured. It's logical to expect a more relaxed approach on both teams and since I think Latvia will be better motivated since they feel like they can stand up to Spain, unlike Germany, France or Serbia. They are physically more or less equal to Spain and with this motivation and a good shooting night, Latvia could turn this into an interesting match Details

The tip at Spain didn't go yesterday but that was mostly due to Serbia, who were without any creativity and showed they are far from being a proper team. Germany are very different than that. They work great together, they are powerful and dominating through rebound and defense. That is very difficult to play against. Spain are physically inferior and will struggle with Germany's offensive rebound a lot. Spain had the same problem with France at the start. Germany are full of confidence, they are doing great and will be physically dominant here. I don't see how they could lose like that, if they lose at all. Details

There is a lot of rivalry between these teams which makes this the derby of this round. I think Spain should not be the favorite here. Serbia opened the tournament badly here. They got defeated to Germany and then struggled with Latvia, as a consequence of bad game, especially in offense. As the pressure wore off, the offense got better an Serbia looked better. Stojanovic understood what his role in offense is and is no longer forcing so much. The entire team is playing great defense and grabbing rebounds on both ends of the floor. This Serbia is different from the one that opened this tournament. One could say the same about Spain, but their limitations are quite obvious, as the matches against Ukraine and the Czechs showed. Only Vila is physically at Serbia's level, Yusta is far from proper form. Serbia are better motivated because they think Spain robbed them off the gold medal at the U16 tournament. All the Serbian players think they are better than Spain and I'm sure they will win today, just like at U-17 WC last year, in the game for the bronze medal. Details

Almost all the coaches at this championship agree that the Germans are the physical most powerful team next to France. All five players aggressively grab rebounds, they are much taller than the average and it's no wonder Germany managed to beat Serbia. They are now to face the opponents who are miles away in physical power. The Czechs talked about having problems against tall opponents even before getting here. That was only confirmed in their matches with France and Spain. The German defense and rebound will cause them a lot of problems and the Czechs need to turn to the Latvia game because that is their only real chance for a win in the second round. They will probably not be able to lose by less than 10 points here. Details

Serbia did horribly and fell well below expectations to record a completely unexpected defeat to Germany. It was a game in which they couldn't score at all, while Germany had a brilliant shooting night. It was just one of those games that I believe will not happen again for Serbia. It's only logical to expect that they make a big step forward today, which is when all of their superiority over Latvia will become obvious. Latvia beat Montenegro yesterday but their coach knows it will only because of the unbelievable run of three pointers that they were able to do so. Serbia is one level above and Latvia will not be able to handle that. Given the motivation, I can't imagine anything else but a double-digit win for Serbia. Details

Czech Republic took over the role Lithuania usually have at all competitions. They are playing the fastest, most attractive and best quality basketball that crushed all their group stage opponents other than Spain, of course, by 20 points or more. Lithuania are far from being a top-level team and they're lucky to have played in the weakest group here. All of their wins are down to defense, against which feeble teams from Germany and Slovenia stood no chance. They are now to face a much better a team that beat them twice in a row a month ago away. This game is to be played on neutral grounds, the Czechs are in great form, with a good game, bursting with confidence and they simply have to be favorite against Lithuania that hasn't had a team this bad in years. Details

Slovenia were crushed by Lithuania yesterday by 25 points in what turned out to be a real disaster. It was no coincidence but the result of very limited potential on this Slovenian team. Lithuania destroyed them in the key after being completely inferior to Turkey in the second round. Turkey might be the No.1 contender for the gold medal here. They are very talented, physically impressive, and has been together for years. We had two close matches between these two teams a month ago but Turkey couldn't count on half of their players back then. They are now complete, in great form and Slovenia have nothing to do here. The point difference will only get bigger each next minute. Details

I have to admit that I do not get the odds that were set for this game. I honestly expected them to at least be reversed, if not deeming Turkey a favorite. The Turks barely beat Britain yesterday and I assume the odds are base on that. But even as unconvincing as they were against a physically powerful opponent, they managed to record a win that clearly meant a lot judging by the eruption of happiness that followed. That will only boost the confidence this team already has. And lots of it. The most important difference is the one in quality. Lithuania has only Sabonis in this generation while the Turks have Ugurlu, Birsen, Kosut, Gecim and Ulubay...Those are all players from top Turkish clubs. Kosut recorded the unbelievable 11 blocks yesterday and could prove as an ideal player for stopping Sabonis. I simply don't see a way for Lithuania to win. I will go with handicap just to be sure but the more courageous among you can go with Turkey's win. Details

The margin is okay to go with, especially if we know that these two teams might be the best ones at the championship offense-wise. Spain is definitely the favorite here but the Czechs are a very tricky, fast-paced team. I'm sure they can do good on the offensive end because regardless of the fact Sima and Diop control the Spanish paint the Czech Republic have players who can get them out and that's their chance. The Czechs have played most of their friendly matches at 80-90 points to prove what kind of a pace they want. Spain doesn't mind, especially when they play good defense because after that they immediately look for fast transition. They are great offense-wise and have a lot of solutions which the Czechs will struggle to defend. In any case, I would set this margin at least 10 points higher which is why I have to go with this. Details

Even though the games Real and Barcelona played this season aren't good for this tip because Real went over 90 points in them, I still think this is a very good-quality tip. First of all, Barcelona's game was 50% worse back then compared to now. That goes for defense in particular. The defensive end became brilliant when Oleson returned to the back court. Barca now make huge pressure on opponent's back court, which is very important against Real. Another very important thing for this tip is rebound control. I'm sure Tomic and Lampe will do better than Real's players in that respect and when stripped off that two segments, Real find themselves in problems. I would not be too surprised even if Barca win here but I'll go with the safer option - the handicap or better yet the under at Real, which is in my opinion and given everything the best choice. Details

The situation is clear here. Ribas's injury opens up a big space in Valencia's back line, and Van Rossom has to jump in. He should play up to 30 minutes today, and will definitely take more shots than so far. His game was consistent when away this season, and most of the guests' offenses go through him. He scored 9 in the first match, and even though he missed most, I think he'll have a double-digit score today. A man who's got almost 50% three pointers and 55% two pointers has to go over this margin when he gets so much authority like today. Details

Fuenlabrada are on their way to the second league, and are the only team with no chance of staying in the first. So, the mood is disastrous, and coach Sala clearly said they'll have the toughest 40 minutes of the season, where they expect to be insulted by the fans. In an atmosphere like that, and the game they've been playing lately, they don't stand a chance against Valencia. The guests are coming after making a big mistake against Bilbao, and they have to fight for the important fifth place. They have to win, and they definitely got the game to beat Fuenlabrada. Valencia's offense should decide this match, and because of the psychological element, a handicap seems like the best choice. Details

This match is extremely important for the guests, they need to win to stay in the league. Real are just finishing getting ready for the playoff. But, it's one thing to need something, and another to get it. Real are a special class, they've got 12 equally good players, their confidence is sky high, their form is excellent, and they want to make their fans happy today. The guests gambled their chances away a long time ago, and lost by 20 or more points difference to any stronger opponent in away matches they played. They might be in for about 10 minutes here, but when Real start crushing them, their disappointment will only contribute to the difference getting bigger, so I see this match ending by at least 30 points advantage for Real, and I'll take this handicap. If you can get an even bigger handicap, go for it. Details

Altghough this is a classical match in which one team don't need to win and the other is fighting for it, I'm going opposite all of that. By winning in the last round Sevilla don't have the pressure on them, their stay in the league is secure and today they're up for a big celebration. The team are extremely talented and when they're without pressure, they can beat anyone in the league, and they've confirmed that with matches against Valencia, Unicaja, Barelona. Joventut are no stronger than the aforementioned teams, and they have special problems in away matches. Although they have a huge motive today, I don't believe they will win because the relaxed Sevilla is a big bite for them. I decided to go with a safe option with a handicap, but I also recommend Sevilla's clean win, as well as the away team's under. Details

Even though this is mostly a revue match where neither team are really motivated, I won't go for an over, but handicap on Murcia. They are motivated a bit more here because they want to make their fans happy. They've definitely got the form, and are playing really well at home - they even beat Real here. Today, they're hosting Canarias who are weakened because their duo Blanco-Richotti are out, which means they will rely on the centers Sekulić and Sikma. I think those two won't matter much today because Murcia are really strong in the paint, with Lima, Antel, Radović, and Lee. As soon as their paint game is blunt, Canarias are losing, and I'm convinced it'll be a convincing loss for Canarias. Details

Bruesa went over this margin only once in the last 10 home games. That is no surprise because they are the team that plays the slowest basketball in the league and their main focus is the defense. The same thing will happen today, especially because they're playing the deciding game in their attempt to avoid relegation. Added plus is the fact that they're facing Sevilla who, led by coach Casimir, significantly improved their defense and that is now the way they win games. The away team is better in all positions and if they play at their level, they should definitely win today, and for me, considering the fact that we're expecting a slow game, this option on under points for the home team is the best. Details

Obradoiro got fantastic results in home matches this season, all based on great defense. In 15 matches, only Real and Canaris scored over 80, but those two are great offensive teams, and they only managed to go over in the last period when the match was solved. Obradoiro are much relaxed today, though, because they secured staying in the league, but I don't doubt their motive because they'll definitely want to please their fans against Unicaja. The guests are losing form and a series of defeats resulted in questioning their second place at the league table. Besides playing under big pressure today, Unicaja had a lot of problems in away matches this season. They're always struggling offensively, and if they face a team firm enough to slow them down and shut down their offensive rebounds, Unicaja are powerless. That's exactly what could happen today, and I see this match ending in low numbers, and I definitely don't see Unicaja scoring over 80. Details

Under different circumstances, this would be a good margin, but I think it is low today. As we have said in the preview, this game is not important result-wise because both teams are rather secure in their positions. This clearly helps Barcelona because they played perfectly in their last two league games after elimination from the Euroleague, and they haven't given a chance to their opponent. This is not surprising because they have 12 equal players who keep an amazing pace which can rarely be countered by anyone in Spain. Estudiantes are not one of those teams, in my opinion. They did, however, win the first game but that will motivate Barca even more, since the 'students' are not nearly as good in away games as they are at the home court. They lost by 35 points against Laboral, 26 against Real, and by 16 against Gran Canaria. Barca is on that level, they are in fine form and they want revenge for the defeat in the regular season in this relaxed game, and Estudiantes will hardly go under 20 here. Details

Even though Unicaja play a bit faster lately, I don't see them like that today. Zaragoza came to a rough spot with a series of bad results, and this match is really important for them. That means they'll fully dedicate themselves to the defense, and I don't think they'll allow as much running as they did in the last round against Barcelona who crushed them. Unicaja are different than Barcelona, and they're much worse offensively. They overpower their opponents through offensive rebounds, and create defensive pressure to win. Zaragoza don't have many turnovers, and their center line is really strong, and can easily match Unicaja. That's what I base this tip on. I don't think Unicaja will win here convincingly because this is the time for the guests to play a real game, which means they shouldn't concede over 75. Details

As was the case in the last round, I have to go with an under for Joventut. Last time the bet fell catastrophically thanks to Valencia's running around. The match went to 180 points, but today I think that's impossible. Joventut and their coach Maldonado know how important this match is for them and Maldonado pointed out they can't concede over 70 points. Bruesa is even more important for this type because they're a team who may be playing the slowest basketball in Spain and they know that, except for the defense, they have no weapons to threaten Joventut. Considering the high stakes and great defenses from both sides, and the statistics which support this type, I simply have to take this with an under and hope that his time Joventut will meet their expectations. Details